Adam S. Trotter, James M. Moran, & Lincoln J. Greenhill
Xing-Wu Zheng
Carl R. Gwinn
We present a parsec-scale image of the OH maser in the nucleus of the active galaxy III Zw 35, made using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at a wavelength of 18 cm. We detected two distinct components, with a projected separation of 50 pc (for D = 110 Mpc) and a separation in Doppler velocity of 70 km/s, which contain 50% of the total maser flux. Velocity gradients within these components could indicate rotation of clouds with binding mass densities of approximately 7000 solar masses/cubic parsec and total masses > 500,000 solar masses. Emission in the 1665 MHz OH line is roughly coincident in position with that in the 1667 MHz line, although the lines peak at different Doppler velocities. We detected no 18 cm continuum emission; our upper limit implies a peak apparent optical depth > 3.4, assuming the maser is an unsaturated amplifier of continuum radiation.
© 2002 by Adam Somers Trotter
Last updated Sunday, 26 May 2002